Smith Family

First Generation

I have conflicting information regarding the identity of William's parents. For a long time my web page stated that he was the son of Isaac Smith and Sarah Hancock, based on notes I found in my grandmother's papers. However, I was told by Mel Harris that a family Bible that belonged to Lora Pope Smith Jennings states that Isaac Watt Smith and Sarah Hancock, who married in 1784 in Charlotte Co. VA, had a son William Finney Smith, born 1789.

Based on this information, I speculated here that my William Booker Smith might actually be the son of Robert Smith (1765-1830) and Rebecca Booker. An excerpt from another family Bible, quoted both in the Ackerly Our Kin book and in a handwritten sheet from Julia Asher, names only the following three children for Robert and Rebecca:

Both Robert and Rebecca lived long enough to have more children after these. They were in the right location to be the parents of William Booker Smith, and this would account for his middle name. I've tried to find a will or other papers for Robert, but have been unsuccessful to date. Is anyone else researching this family?

Recently I uncovered the source of my grandmother's information stating that William was the son of Isaac and Sarah. This was based on a death record in Rustburg VA, quoted in a letter by Marian Asher Fawcett of Campbell County, which states that William was the son of Isaac Smith and Sarah Hancock, daughter of Dudley Hancock [see transcription of this letter].

The 1784 marriage record for Isaac Smith and Sarah Hancock names her father as Anthony Hancock, but the letter says that death record for William Booker Smith gives Sarah's father as Dudley Hancock. Could there be two different Isaac Smith / Sarah Hancock couples? Sarah who married in 1784 must have been born no later than about 1768, and probably a little earlier than that. William Booker Smith's exact birthdate is unknown, but is estimated from his gravestone, which states that he died 13 Dec 1858 "in the 49th year of his age". This is consistent with the 1850 census, which lists him as age 40.

Isaac and Sarah had a son Isaac W. Smith, born 11 Nov 1791 (based on the family Bible records sent by Mel Harris). I have no information on his wife or children. Could he possibly also have married someone named Sarah Hancock?

That's Roy at the top of the page. Her identification is confirmed by her DAR registry, number 58609 (volume 58, page 209); she claimed membership through her ancestor Col. Joseph Cabell of Virginia (1732-1798), her mother's gg-grandfather. The DAR information is quoted on-line in a WorldConnect file called "Tunstall Descendants", by Michelle Woodham.

Family information that I received said she did not marry, but she's a rather distant cousin, and I wasn't able to verify this. Since then, I've found an on-line file naming her as the wife of George Wilson Cabell, which I believe is correct. They appear together in the 1930 census in Washington DC, and she is listed as Roy S. Cabell. If this is correct, then she may be the Roy Cabell born 27 March 1888, died Jun 1974, last residence Phoenix AZ. Can anyone confirm?

Virginia Genealogist 19, pp. 287-290 (1975), a transcript of a 16 page personal book that belonged to Catherine Clark Smith. A photocopy of the original is in the Virginia State Library. Birthdates etc. for this family in this database are primarily from this source. Julia Asher stated that this notebook was found by Katherine Smith, daughter of Kate Holcombe and James Robert Smith, among her mother's possessions. The book appears to have been made by William Irvin for his niece Catherine Clark.

This page was revised on May 15, 2008, with corrected information about Roy Cabell Smith. On June 11, 2008, I substantially revised the discussion of the possible parents of William Booker Smith.